Leather and Lace
by Zairan Mai
Summary: Bella's keeping secrets, and all the Cullens know it. Jasper's yet to figure it out, but when Bella regretfully brings his world crashing down around him, a bond starts to form between two unlikely people. Slightly AU. I think. Don't kill me if it is.
1. Caution

_**Leather and Lace**_

_Caution_

In all honesty, I knew from the beginning that things were a little bit _too_ perfect. Edward always, always knew what to say and when to say it; Alice was always there, ready to swoop in and save the day when I started to really, really think about what was happening to the people who meant the world to me. Emmett, however, he was real; so was Rosalie. I wasn't sure about Carlisle, Esme, and Jasper, but for some reason I got the feeling that Jasper was being manipulated in almost the exact same way I was. Actually, I knew that Jasper was being manipulated like me. Esme was too maternal to have anything to do with this, and Carlisle truly wanted the best for his family. It was only Edward and Alice who were in on this plan.

"Bella? Why are you here?" Jasper's voice startled me from my thoughts, and I briefly gasped at the sudden intrusion. Jasper just looked at me with a funny expression on his face. "Bella?"

"I… I…" I couldn't tell him. I just couldn't. Alice had brought Jasper to this point, and there was no way that I could bring his entire world crashing down around him. So I did the first thing that came to me.

I ran away.

It was Rosalie who finally showed up in my bedroom, and that in itself was something that scared the crap out of me. "R-R-Rosalie?" I stammered out, and she offered me a weak smile. "Rosalie, why are you here?"

"Because there was no way that Emmett would know what to say, Jasper still hasn't found out yet, Carlisle doesn't believe it's true, Esme's too sweet to tell you that she kind of hates Edward and Alice right now, and Alice was just out of the equation, along with Edward. That left me. Bella… I know that I've been a real bitch, but I don't hate you. I don't particularly _like_ you, but I don't hate you. I think that, in a different situation, a different reality, you and I could become really good friends."

"Do you know everything?" I whispered, and she sat down on my bed by me. "I mean… What they were doing…? What he almost did to me?"

Rosalie's golden eyes slowly tinged into pitch-black. "What he almost did to you, Bella? What did he almost do to you?"

"It was nothing," I said quickly. "It wasn't anything awful, I swear. He just…"

"Did he tell you my story, Bella?" I shook my head. Rosalie smiled a humorless smile, and then she began. "I was the prettiest girl in the city. My daddy was a banker, and the Great Depression hadn't really affected us. I was happy that I had a father who wanted to buy me pretty dresses, who wanted me to be pretty. Royce King II was the most eligible bachelor, and it was me that he chose out of all of the girls. I'd been jealous of my friend Vera for so long… She had everything that I wanted. I may've had a father who wanted to buy me pretty things, but Vera didn't have that. Vera had something that I'd never had—a family that truly loved her. She was always so happy, even though she and her husband didn't have a lot of money. The Depression hit them hard, but whenever I saw her, she had a smile on her face…

"It was late at night. I was walking back home after spending the evening with Vera and her little boy, and in my head I was building my future with Royce. We'd be sitting there on the front porch, old and gray-haired, watching our grandchildren play on the front lawn. It was all I ever wanted. Beneath one of the streetlamp, I saw a group of men who were laughing drunkenly. I put my head down and sped up, but then one of them called out to me. 'Rosie!' It was Royce, and I couldn't just ignore him. I stopped and looked at him. He wasn't the Royce I'd grown to know; he was drunk, and his friends were too. Royce slung an arm around me and pulled me painfully close. 'See? Ain't she pretty?' he slurred, and I started struggling.

"'Royce, let me go,' I said, and he just laughed. One of his friends leered at me, and I felt incredibly violated. That feeling accounted for nothing after what happened next. His friend said, 'Well now, I can't really tell with all those clothes on.'"

Rosalie took a look at my face. I'd felt all of the blood drain earlier, and I knew where her story was heading. "Oh my God, Rosalie…"

"Let me finish. It's important." I nodded, and then, in a moment of compassion, I threw my arms around her.

"I want you to know that I won't judge you for your past, Rosalie Hale," I mumbled, and then I released her and sat back. I waited for the rest of her story.

She looked mildly shocked at my actions, but then she shrugged it off.

"They left me for dead in the street. Carlisle smelled the blood and came to investigate. You, Bella, have the ultimate choice in this, and I can't help but feel that you were making the wrong one. I never hated you—I was simply envious. But… I took my revenge on Royce and his friends. I went after them, one by one. I saved Royce for last because I wanted him to know that I was coming for him. Bella, did you know that I'm the only other person in the family besides Carlisle that never tasted human blood?"

Her sudden question startled me, and I replied with, "Well, I do now." She snickered.

"I killed Royce in my wedding dress. He was clutching a whiskey bottle to his chest, and I couldn't help but laugh at how pathetic he looked. That's the reason that I never acted nice, Bella. Because of my past. But now… You owe me an explanation. What did Edward almost do to you?"

"He wasn't himself," I began, and a knot built in my throat, making it difficult to speak. I couldn't lie to her, she'd know. "He… He wanted something, and I'd thought that I was ready to give it… but when he tried to steal it, take it by force… I didn't want to give it to him. I wanted to save it. Rosalie, you know, don't you? How terrifying it is to have the person that you think you love try to take something so precious away in a moment of fury?"

Rosalie, the supermodel who should be on the cover of _Sports Illustrated_, was sitting in my bedroom, telling me of her awful past—she cared. I knew that telling her wasn't a bad idea. She cared about this. She'd know what I was talking about. Her eyes were darker than night after I finished speaking.

"Bella, did he try to rape you?"

"He wasn't himself," I repeated, knowing that it was a futile attempt. I heard the desperate note in my voice. It sounded like I was appealing to Rosalie to tell me that it was true, he just hadn't been himself.

"Was Alice with him?"

I nodded, and suddenly Rosalie had briefly and hesitantly wrapped her arms around me. "Bella, it'll be fine. It will, okay? The rest of us won't let it happen again, I swear! I'll… I'll be there for you. I won't let you experience what I did, especially not now that I know it almost happened."

I was shocked. Rosalie Hale, the only one in the family that hadn't taken to me at all, was offering to protect me. She was hugging me. She was reassuring me.

"Bella, I'm still against you becoming a vampire. But… Do you think that we could maybe try to get along? I won't promise to go out of my way to be nice to you, but I want to at least try to become your friend. Is that… okay?"

I almost laughed. Almost. I controlled the urge. "It's fine, Rosalie. I'd like to try to get along with you as well."

"Rosie." Emmett's voice broke the comfortable silence that had fallen, and I shivered. Emmett's sudden appearance had reminded me that I didn't know where Alice and Edward had gone now. They could be lurking in my closet, outside my house, violating the Quileute treaty bonds. Hurting my friends. I still ached about their betrayal, but it wasn't as bad as it had been when they'd all abandoned me. "Rosie, are you there?"

"No, Emmett, I'm in a wall." Rosalie called back sarcastically. Emmett's booming laughter was a lot like a roll of gentle thunder. "What do you need, Emmett?"

"I was just curious if you were actually here or not," Emmett replied, and I laughed.

"Hi, Emmett."

Emmett's hugely muscled body suddenly appeared in my bedroom, and I squeaked at his random appearance. His booming laugh was contained to a quiet chuckle. "Hi, Bella. How are you?" Emmett's kind question shattered the strong walls that I'd built around my emotions, and tears poured out of my eyes. Emmett lifted me up like a football and made soothing sounds. "I'll take that for an answer," he murmured, and the vibrations of his voice in his chest resembled thunder. Quite literally.

"She's terrified, Emmett. He almost…" And Rosalie's quiet voice trailed off into a high-pitched buzz. Vampire-speed talking, then. She didn't want to bring those memories back to the front of my mind. Emmett's arms tightened around me almost unperceptively, and I knew then that he'd finally realized that I had a good reason to be scared. "Bella's unprotected at this point, and that worries me. She doesn't deserve to go through all of this hell because of our family."

"I'm pretty sure the reason that I'm going through all this hell is because I'm a danger magnet, Rosalie, and not because of your family. Your family was pulled into because of me is a more likely scenario."

"Bella, if it hadn't been for Alice and her visions, then Edward wouldn't have even thought of you. I mean, sure, he'd have struggled with his bloodlust; you'd still be his _la tua cantante_, but still! You wouldn't have been dragged into this supernatural world of ours, and you wouldn't be in danger from the one who supposedly loves you!"

I winced, and Emmett growled softly, most likely warning Rosalie to watch what she said. I didn't blame her. It was my fault, in a weird way. I'd kind of provoked her, and she was only responding in kind. "It's fine, Emmett. Let her speak her mind. It doesn't bother me." Emmett sighed.

"Whatever. Bella, you're going to stay with us tonight. I don't trust those two traitors to not randomly jump you tonight. You'll be safe with me and Rose." I smiled.

"Thanks, Emmett."

He laughed as he leapt from my window and started running.

I could've sworn he said, "Anything for my little sis."


	2. Breakdown

**Thank you to Methodical Madness, my totally epic beta… We survived the random email fail! :P**

* * *

><p><strong>Leather and Lace<strong>

_Breakdown_

There was no way to prepare to shatter someone's world. All I could do was gather my courage and hope to God that it didn't fail me at a vital moment. Normally, I would keep a secret and not tell a single person, simply because if I'd been told a secret, that secret wasn't mine to tell. But this couldn't continue on any longer. I couldn't just sit back and watch as Alice and Edward manipulated Jasper. My truck growled anxiously when I started the engine in my driveway, and I smiled. I loved my truck. It had gone through hell and back with me. There wasn't even a sign of Tyler's car crashing into it from that snowy, icy day when Edward had saved me.

Alice must've seen it before it happened, because I remembered noticing Rosalie and Emmett stealthily herding Jasper into Edward's silver Volvo before chaos had reigned. My heart wrenched as I realized that I'd thought of Alice as my best friend, and then she'd done all of this to me.

My hands tightened on the steering wheel, and I was thankful that I wasn't moving just yet. All I could remember was Alice and her ultimate betrayal.

"_Bella, come on," she urged. I smirked. She was always so impatient, my pixie-like best friend. "There's not much time left!" _

_I threw one last pair of jeans into my duffle and headed towards the bedroom door. "Jeesh, Alice," I teased, "You'd think the house was about to catch on fire!"_

_There was a twinkle in her eye as she whispered, "And how would you know if it wasn't, Bella?"_

_Edward was waiting at the foot of the stairs, and his cold hands gripped my upper arms when I almost face-planted at the last stair. He smiled his crooked smile at me, and my heart fluttered. I felt my face heat up and offered him a smile in return. "Turn around, Bella," he ordered, his velvet voice a little bit rougher than it had been. "Go back upstairs. I need to talk to Alice."_

_I shrugged and turned, walking back upstairs carefully so I didn't fall again. Almost, I corrected, and smiled. Edward was always there to catch me when I fell._

_I set my duffle bag by the door and sat down on my bed. Edward would get me when he was ready, so I let my mind wander onto random things, like Renee and Mike Newton's most recent attempt to get me to leave Edward._

_Abruptly, I was shoved onto my back on the bed, and cold hands were pinning me down, grabbing and releasing, removing and tickling against my bare skin. "E-Edward?" I gasped, and his night-black eyes met mine. _

"_Want," he snarled, and fear made my blood run cold. This wasn't my Edward._

_Cold hands grabbing. Night eyes staring. Growls and snarls raging. _

_An almost-silent knock: "Edward, we have to leave. Jasper's going hunting in the woods near here. We can't let him find out about this because he'd tell Carlisle."_

_Whimpers flee from my throat, and he bares his teeth at me before responding: "One moment more won't hurt."_

"_Release her, Edward." This voice is pained, sorrowful, and calming. Edward's body flies away from my own, and I curl up, whimpering and shaking. "Leave. Take Alice. Go to the Denali's… You should probably stay there until you're calm again." Snarls, hisses, growls, and sounds like thunder rage through the house._

_I remain where I am._

I shook out of the memory, hands still clenched around my steering wheel. I couldn't believe it. Wouldn't believe it. My Edward wouldn't have done anything like that; he was more concerned with my wellbeing than with his own primal needs.

The truck snarled as I left my driveway and headed to the Cullen's. _Well, Bella, it's time to break Jasper. _

I didn't want to do it, but I wouldn't let this manipulation go on any longer. Jasper deserved better.

Emmett greeted me with a broad smile at the Cullen's front door. I smiled back, and waited until the door clicked shut behind me. "Is Jasper here?" I asked Emmett.

Emmett didn't respond; Jasper materialized in the front room and I smiled at him sadly. "Hey, Jasper, can you bear to be around my scent for a few minutes? I need to tell you something. Can we go for a walk?"

Jasper's curious gold eyes nearly made me start crying, but I controlled myself. I could break down later, when I wasn't worrying about Jasper. At this moment, Jasper was my main priority. The front door shut behind us softly. We walked to my truck, and stood there. I didn't unlock it and Jasper didn't complain. He just waited.

"Alice… and Edward," I began, and stopped. How was I supposed to word this? _My best friend was going to let my fiancé rape me?_ _Your wife and Edward are manipulating the two of us?_

I went for direct. "Alice and Edward are manipulating us. Yesterday, Alice stood guard while Edward tried to rape me."

Jasper's eyes were filled with shock and disbelief. "Don't be mad at me, please," I begged. I tried to project my feelings to him the way he could, pushing all of my sorrow, pain, and regret for having to break this to him in his way, but I wasn't an empath. I could only hope he got it.

As I watched, his eyes started to dull, losing their luster. "She stood by and let him try to rape you?"

I nodded.

Jasper's shoulders shook, and he turned away from me. "That explains why I caught your scent's influence so strong in Edward's. Bella, go back to the house. Have Emmett or Carlisle drive you home. Thank you for telling me." His voice had gotten stiffer and more formal with each passing second, and then there was a sound like rushing wind. Jasper was gone.

I sank to my knees, finally letting myself cry for the betrayal of my fiancé and my best friend.


	3. Imperfect

**Thank you to Methodical Madness... I shall work on my dwellings! XD**

* * *

><p><strong>Leather and Lace<strong>

_Imperfect_

It was sweet Esme who finally decided that I'd cried enough on the ground by the truck. She scooped my into her arms delicately and was crooning sweet nothings the entire way back to the main house. I was in shock, in tears, and in torment. I'd just broken Jasper's world, sent it into a blazing inferno of hellfire, and stolen from beneath him the one person that may've kept him sane. I felt rather sick when I thought about it that way. Jasper hadn't done anything to deserve this betrayal. It must've been my fault.

"Bella, dear," Esme whispered, "Is everything all right? Where is Jasper?"

"He's gone," I said hoarsely. Tears still dripped down my cheeks as I spoke. "He left. His eyes… just kind of died, and then he left. Jasper's gone, and I've ruined everything now. I'm sorry."

Those words and thoughts brought on a fresh crying jag. I couldn't stop it. I was such an awful person. "Jasper didn't deserve this," I sobbed, "I've ruined his everything just because of my screwed up presence! I'm so, so sorry!"

She put me in Rosalie's bedroom and left me to deal with my emotions.

Somehow, I managed to sleep.

It was the sound of slamming doors that woke me. "Bella's not _safe_ here!" Edward snarled, and I was surprised that I could hear him. Usually, the Cullens were next to silent when they fought. If they even fought…

"No, she's not safe with you and Alice," Rosalie growled, and I realized then why I could hear them. They were right outside of the bedroom door. "She told me what you almost did, Edward."

There was an arrogant snort, and I could practically see the smirk on his face. "Well, she'd been asking me for it for a while now, so I thought maybe I'd give her what she wanted."

"While _Alice_ was there? She figured it out, Edward. She knows that you were simply manipulating her and Jasper." The hissing that followed made me nervous. They sounded more like battling toms than anything else.

"Rosalie, let me by. If we don't get rid of her, she'll split this coven in half!"

"No."

_They're going to fight over me._

I started to shake, wishing that they wouldn't fight because of me. I wasn't worth it. I wasn't. All I did was cause trouble for this family. First, I was Edward's singer, and he … fell into obsession because of me—maybe Jasper's idea of smothering me in my sleep after that wasn't such a bad one. Second, on my birthday, I'd gotten a paper-cut and nearly shattered Jasper's world then. Third, Edward had gone to the Volturi to have them murder him because he didn't think he could live without me—due to Jasper's manipulation when I'd gotten back, Edward had managed to remain calm. Fourth, I'd nearly gotten them killed because of Victoria. Only because of Jasper's past experience with newborn armies were the Cullens able to escape.

"Peter?" came Carlisle's startled cry, and shock radiated through me. Peter? Who's Peter? And… Why was I so hungry?

"Rosalie, how long was I asleep?"

"For about a day," she replied around her growling match with the two outside the bedroom. I stood and walked to the door. I grabbed the cool knob and shuddered.

"Bella, are you in there?" The Southern drawl was sweet and thick, a lot like honey, but strange and unfamiliar. "Bella, don't you dare open that door, you hear me?" I froze and slowly released the knob. "Good girl. Now, then. My name's Peter Whitlock. I'm here because you, darlin', need a little bit of rescuin' today, and you're gonna play a major role in my life later on. Can't let my little sister-to-be get mauled by a vampire, can I?"

A smile rose to my lips unbidden. "Now, don't freak out, muffin," Peter warned. Freak out about what? And… 'muffin'?

"_No!"_

Edward's roar of fury terrified me, and I backed into a corner of the room before sitting. I stayed in the corner, cowering, and then two bright red eyes were staring into mine. I squeaked, and then a cold hand that wasn't smooth like Edward's caressed my cheek. "I said, don't freak out," the Southern drawl snickered, and I smiled again. He was relaxing, so much more laidback than the Cullens were. "So here's the thing. I know you have a thing about human-drinkers that want to eat you, but I give you my solemn vow that I will not eat you." I laughed, and then shock echoed dully in me. Here I'd just been mourning about shattering Jasper's world, and now I was laughing!

My smile dropped away, and the Southern man—Peter—frowned. "Don't make that face, muffin. I'm not here to hurt you. Rosie-posie," he teased, and I heard a bark of laughter from Rosalie. "Reassure the little lady that I'm not gonna eat her. Or hurt her."

"He won't, Bella. He has better control than most of us." That shocked me, but if Rosalie said it, she meant it. That was something I'd noticed: Rosalie didn't lie. She said what needed to be said, but wouldn't lie about it. Peter offered me his hand. I regarded it curiously, and he straightened up with a sigh.

"Look, Bella. I need your help. I need to find my brother, and all of me's screaming that you're the only one who'll be able to reach him when he's found." I stared at Peter's hand, and then I grabbed it. I'd repay my sin by helping this Southern man track down his brother. After all, the world's imperfect, and the best way to ease my guilt for losing Jasper would be to find someone in return.

Peter smiled at me before lifting me into his arms and jumping out the window. I buried my face in his chest as he started running.


	4. Revelations

**Leather and Lace**

_Revelations_

Peter stopped running when he found a gas station. I wandered inside at his urging, irritated that he'd managed to convince me to pay for the food and drink with his money. I glanced out of the convenience store windows and saw Peter leaning lazily against a pitch-black pickup truck. I grinned. He was the epitome of a Southerner… Well, the epitome of what I thought of as a Southerner. He was polite, wore an easy smile, and had the Southern accent that echoed in my head softly. The cashier cleared his throat, and my attention shot back to the present. I felt my face flame, and I hastily shoved the ten at the kid.

"Have a nice day," he called, and the door slammed shut with a jingle as the bells that were attached clattered against each other angrily. I grumbled and stumbled on my way to Peter's truck. Peter was bent over laughing, and I wasn't sure if it was because of the kid, my humiliation, my miniature trip on my way to him, or all of the above. I held out my hand and the cash that was left over.

"You knew that would happen," I accused, and Peter nodded, grinning. He opened the passenger door for me, and I clambered into the cab of the truck. Almost simultaneously, my door shut and Peter was in the driver's seat.

"I did. I've a gift for just sorta knowin' things." I pouted, and turned to look out the window. Peter'd started the engine and was chugging out of the gas station. "For instance, I know that you and I are gonna get pretty close on this little journey. And that if I don't warn you that we're stoppin' in Texas to get Char, you'll get mad." I laughed at him. I couldn't help it. He was warmth, the sun that barely showed its face in Forks. He made me feel really safe. He was a non-empathic Jasper.

_Jasper…_

My good mood drained away. There was so much that I didn't know about Jasper, things that I wished I did know. Like, where was he before he was with Alice and the Cullens? How was he changed? Where was he from? I knew that he had something to do with the Southern Vampire Wars, but that was it. I knew that he was scarred more than any other vampire I'd ever met, and I knew that he'd mentioned a coven of two nomadic vampires that he'd saved from the Wars.

I turned to look at Peter, and gasped. "Oh my God, Peter! You're scarred like him!" I winced, wishing that I hadn't left it so cryptically. Too late to help that, though. Peter smiled.

"Yup. I was the Captain of an army durin' the Vampire Wars. I wish that I hadn't been in it, but I was. Thanks to me, lives were saved. This scarring, though, is rare. It marks me as a survivor, and the only way to get this many scars is to have been in _her_ army. There's one other survivor who has more scars than me, and that's my brother. He was the Major. He… was terrifyin'. He buried all of his emotion, could barely be considered a vampire when I first met him. Thankfully, he took a likin' to me," Peter grinned. "He asked _her_ to let me stay, told _her_ that I'd be a good Captain. For him, I was. For _her,_ I went outta my way to be awful."

I smiled. He made it sound like he was being a teenager in a rebellious stage. "How old are you, Peter?"

"I'm twenty-eight." He glanced at me sideways. "Now, don't go gettin' any ideas, I'm mated to Charlotte." I burst out laughing, dropping my bag of soda and chips on the floor to grip my stomach. If I didn't pay attention, I'd laugh so hard I'd get a stomachache. Peter grinned. "Now you're happy again, muffin, and that's good. Eat your goodies and sleep. We've still got a drive ahead of us."

I sighed and pulled out the soda. "Fine." My mind conjured up images of warm, honey-gold eyes as I sipped the soda, eyes that slowly died in front of me. I felt the tears drip down my cheeks. "Hey, Peter. How do you repent the sin of bringing someone's world crashing down around him?" Peter didn't respond for a few minutes, and I played with my soda cap as I waited.

"Well, I think that depends, Bella. Sometimes you _can't _repay for doing that. But it depends."

It wasn't what I'd been hoping to hear. "Oh."

"I mean, Jasper nearly brought my world crashing to a halt when he almost murdered Charlotte, but he didn't. He let us go. So I forgive him for that."

I bolted upright and stared at Peter. "Jasper? Jasper Hale?"

Peter made a funny face at me. "No, Major Jasper Whitlock. My brother." My heart sank. For a second, I thought Peter knew Jasper. But it turned out that Jasper was his brother, not my Jasper. "Why?"

"Because yesterday, I sent Jasper Hale's world into a spinning inferno of hellfire," I cried, and I didn't stop my tears now. "Alice and Edward were fooling around behind our backs, and then Edward tried to r-rape me. I had to tell him, I had to. I didn't want to but he needed to know! Alice was manipulating us the entire time! D'you think he'll forgive me if I can find him again, Peter? Can I be forgiven for that?"

Peter released the steering wheel with one hand and tousled my hair. "Shh, little muffin. You've got nothing to worry about," he said firmly. "Jasper's gonna forgive you. Alice wasn't worth the dirt on the road beneath his feet. Jasper Whitlock isn't gonna hate you or anythin'. He knows your emotion, remember?"

My heart stopped. Jasper was Peter's brother.


	5. Lieutenant

**Leather and Lace**

_Lieutenant_

Charlotte was waiting for us. "Peter, I thought you'd be here earlier!" she snapped, hustling over to the passenger door. She scooted me into the middle seat and graced me with a sweet smile. "Hi there, sugar, I'm Charlotte. This idiot bear of a man is my mate." I snickered at her description of Peter, who cried out indignantly at being called an idiot bear. "Aw, don't be like that, Petey," Charlotte teased, "You know you love being called an idiot bear of a man."

Peter grumbled and headed back onto the main highway. "I'm Bella," I said, offering Charlotte my hand. "It's really nice to meet you."

Charlotte bypassed the handshake and went straight for the hug. "Aw, you're a sweetheart! And now, Bella, you've gotta save Jasper. He can't handle all of this on his own. It's too much for his sensitive brain. He fancied himself in love with that foresighted bitch because she said it was and would be so, so this hurts his heart. You're the only one who can fix it."

I sighed. Jasper, again. "It's my fault that he's like this in the beginning," I whispered. "I shouldn't have told him. All it did was screw things up. Charlotte, how's he going to forgive me? I shattered his entire world in one fell swoop." Charlotte slung an arm over my shoulders, and I was shocked at how outgoing the tiny blonde was. "I don't deserve his forgiveness, but I'll still try. You guys are his family, pure and simple, and I refuse to break apart another family."

Charlotte and Peter looked at each other for a moment, and then they took turns giving me a hug. After the hug-and-drive moment was over, Peter said, "Muffin, you're a part of our family, too. We can't lose you over something as simple as Assward—Oops, excuse me, _Edward—_doesn't know a good thing with it's looking at him in the face. Me'n Char here already love ya, Bella-muffin." It was such a kind, whole-hearted remark that I couldn't help but tear up a little bit. Charlie wasn't big on sharing emotions; all Edward had done was say, "I love you, love," and then move onto something else.

"Oh. I keep meaning to ask—Why on Earth are you calling me muffin?"

Peter patted me on my head. "Because you are a muffin!"

Charlotte gave him a dirty glare and ruffled my hair. "Because you're sweet, like some muffins, and because muffins are food that, while looking good, we do not want to eat. He could've easily called you ice cream. Be happy it was muffin."

I shuddered. Ice cream, while fun to eat, wasn't something that I'd enjoy being called. I could deal with being called muffin. We were sitting there, each thinking our own individual thoughts, when I looked out into the road and squeaked. Char, hearing my squeak, glanced the same way. She threw her arms around me, and we met each other's eyes before we started screaming. "Oh my God, Peter! There's a truck! Watch out!" We were holding each other and screaming bloody murder, and Peter was frantically trying to get out of the eighteen wheeler's way, and all I was thinking was, _I'm sorry, Jasper. I didn't get to try to save you._

When the truck blazed past, horn blaring, and I realized that I'd survived the whole thing, I was grateful that I hadn't become another number on the Drunken Vampire Driving lists that I was sure the world suffered from. I turned accusatory eyes on Peter. "Are you drunk?"

Peter scoffed, but I noticed that his eyes were scanning the side of the highway as he tried to find a place to pull over. "No, but I think you might be experiencing a sleep high, Bella. We're going to get a room at a motel. You and Char will stay, and I'll go hunt. I'm not as controlled as Char is, and my staying the night with you can't be a good idea. At all." I liked that he wasn't afraid to admit that, whereas Edward would say he'd stay and I'd wake up without him in the morning because he'd have to leave me to go and hunt.

"Well, Charlotte will be with me, right?"

"Well, duh, sugar!" she grinned, and I laughed. In that instant, I realized that my new "family" wasn't going to ditch me. They were protective, caring, and they weren't afraid to admit that I meant something to them. I knew that they were probably exactly what I needed.

"See, Bellsa-muffin?" Peter teased, "I told you that you're a part of our family!"

I laughed. "Peter's omnipotent, like Yoda!"

Charlotte cracked up at Peter's expression. "One thing about Yoda, here, is that he doesn't like being referenced to being like Yoda." Peter was still grumbling as he pulled into a Motel 8 parking lot. I panicked.

"Oh, crap, Peter! I don't have clothes, or shampoo, or human things that I need!"

Charlotte grinned. "Get on out of the truck, Bella," she said, "And let me show you the extent of Peter's gift."

There, in the bed of the truck, was a brown duffle bag. Char unzipped it and let me see the contents—bras, underwear, shirts, shorts, tee shirts, tank tops, pjs. And they were all in my size. "Yay, thank you, Peter!" Peter was still laughing as he drove away.

Charlotte charmed the kid at the Front Desk, and I was still laughing as we made our way to the dingy room. "Well, Bells, welcome to your one night home."

I winced, and gingerly set my bag down on the desk. "Um, Char, d'you mind if I shower first? I don't know if vampires shower, but, I mean, you know…" I felt like an idiot. Charlotte just laughed at me.

"Even if I am the Major's Lieutenant, I am still female. I shower, Bella. You can go first; humans like hot water more than we vampires."

I smiled and grabbed the stuff I needed from the duffle. I entered the bathroom and sighed. It was going to be an ugly shower.


	6. Major

**Leather and Lace**

_Major_

It was still pitch dark outside when Charlotte and Peter woke me up. It wasn't their intent at that point, but I woke up still. "Charlotte, we've got to go! All of me is screamin' that the longer we stay, the more danger Bella's gettin' in!"

"She's sleepin', Pete!" Charlotte was against waking me up, but after having Peter tell me that he "has a gift for just sorta knowin' things", I didn't feel the need to stick around any longer.

"I'm not," I whispered. "Peter, why am I in danger?" Peter flashed, and my eyes registered the fact that he was now in front of me on the bed on his knees. He placed his hands on my shoulders lightly. "Where are we?"

"We're in Texas," he said, so softly that I strained my ears to hear him. I nodded. "Bella, I don't know why I keep feelin' that you're in danger, but I'm not inclined to stick around and find out." I nodded, and I stood up, hoping that my clumsiness wouldn't randomly show up. It didn't, and I hurried into the ugly bathroom to grab the things that I needed to pack. I rushed out of the bathroom and found Char there with the duffle bag, open and ready to receive the things. I dropped the toiletries into the bag, and then the motel room door hit the deck.

Instantly, Peter was in front of Charlotte and me, his low, furious growl resounding throughout the room. Char had a protective arm wrapped around my waist, holding me close to her, and the brown duffle bag was on the floor. _"Maria," _Peter spat, and the little, dark-haired girl who stood in the doorway smiled softly.

"It is nice to see you again, Peter," she sighed, and tossed her head, sending dark curls fleeing for cover. I started shaking. Maria didn't seem like a nice person at all. "I didn't think that I would see my old captain here, especially not protecting a human." She made a move to step forward, and Charlotte's growl sent chills down my spine.

"Isn't that the one that I ordered you two to kill?" Maria asked, eyeing Charlotte with a strange look. "Well, doesn't matter. Michael, Gabriel." At those names, two huge, bulky vampires stepped into the room and Maria pointed at me. "I want that human. Now."

Hell broke loose. "Char, grab her and run!" Peter roared, and Char didn't move. Snarls ripped from her throat, and growls rumbled out dangerously from her chest when they tried to get near me, but never once did Char move. Maria stayed in the doorway, grinning as she watched the destruction that she'd set loose. _Why does she want me?_ I wondered. _"God damn it, we need the Major!"_ Peter screamed, and suddenly, everything in the room went still. Maria's grin froze on her face; Muscles 1 froze as he tried to rip Peter's arm off; Muscles 2 froze with his teeth bared at Char's neck. The feeling that radiated slowly into the room was one that set me on edge, reminding me of the big cats I'd seen once at the zoo. It prowled in quietly, sleekly, knowing that it was the most dangerous thing to walk the Earth and knowing that its prey had a snowball's chance in hell to escape. The feeling was danger, fear, confidence, arrogance, and calm rolled into one.

The feeling preceded its host. The man that entered the room faintly resembled Jasper Hale, but was completely different. Jasper Hale's jaw hadn't been a solid straight one; Jasper Hale's face hadn't ever seemed so feral. Jasper Hale's eyes hadn't ever been a dark maroon red. Jasper Hale hadn't seen hell and lived hell then walked out alive. This wasn't Alice's Jasper. This was someone else entirely.

He was leather-clad in a motorcyclist's jacket, and his normally-gelled-into-shaggy-perfection hair was just the every-day loose tumble of shaggy waves that surrounded his face. His hair was a little bit darker than it had been in Forks. Jasper walked like a huge cat, all grace and fluidity; he didn't walk the way the Cullens had made him. There was no humanity in the Jasper before me. That should've scared me.

Instead, it eased my fears. I wasn't scared for Peter and Charlotte anymore. I had nothing _to_ fear now. Jasper was so powerful that there was nothing to be scared of. "Well, now," Jasper said, and there was a rough texture to it, slightly hoarse but completely male. "Looks like it's just one big blast from the past, ain't it." The Southern accent wasn't like Peter's or Charlotte's. It was older-sounding, in a strange way. It sent shudders down my spine. "Maria, the Vampire Wars are over now. There isn't a reason to be huntin' down gifted people anymore. Why are you here?"

"We want her," Maria replied, jerking her head toward me. Jasper's red eyes lighted on me, and recognition flickered in the deep depths of those maroon eyes. Rage followed after that.

"You can't have her, Maria. She ain't a human up for grabs, one o' your red dots of blood. She's not to be claimed by the likes of you." Jasper's rough baritone got lower, and growls started to thunder from his chest. "She ain't gonna be claimed by any of yours, Maria!"

"She will be!"

Muscles 2 leapt around Charlotte in that instant, grabbing my arm and dragging me away from Char's side. I started to get scared. "Charlotte… Peter!" I cried, heart galloping in my throat. Peter whirled and a wordless bellow of fury raged across the ears of what had to have been the entire Motel 8. _I wonder how they're going to explain that,_ I wondered, and mentally slapped myself. _Think about escaping!_

I was shoved backwards, and my back hit something soft, yielding. _The bed._ Muscles leered down at me. "I'd say it won't hurt, but it's gonna hurt like hell, kit." His mouth opened wide and he prepared to bite me when suddenly, his cold weight was gone away from me.

"She won't be harmed by the likes of you or yours, Maria. I thought I made that clear, or must I make myself clearer?" I was hauled up onto my feet by one strong, cold arm, and that arm then wrapped around my waist while the rest of the man stayed in front of me. _He's defending me?_ "Looks like all of your army's turned on you now, Maria. I am Major Jasper Whitlock, the first person handpicked and changed by you, and I ain't gonna let you get your way about this girl."

My heart nearly stopped beating. I'd been called a danger magnet. I hadn't really agreed with that until now, when one of the most dangerous vampires to walk to Earth was defending me from the bright-red-eyed Maria of the Mexican Coven from the Vampire Wars.


	7. Near Death Experience

**Leather and Lace**

_Near Death Experience_

They say that, when faced with death, your life flashes before your eyes. They are so, so wrong. Thoughts ran screaming through my head, random thoughts like, "I wonder what it feels like to be dead," or, "I wonder if Peter and Charlotte will change me if Maria tries to kill me via Muscles 1 or 2?" Stupid thoughts, especially when death was glaring at me with hateful red eyes.

I was pacified by Jasper's obvious attempt to protect me from harm. Still a little bit terrified, but pacified nonetheless. I was amazed, though, that Jasper's doomsday emotions weren't affecting me at all. I could feel them in the air around me, but they didn't sink in and affect me. I guessed that it was Jasper, or something like that. "Maria, the sun rises," someone called from outside, and I winced. Sunrise meant that I'd be sequestered away in this motel room with three vampires. Or more, if Maria and her Muscles twins didn't leave.

I could feel the wave of strong emotions trying to knock me over, but I forced them down. Jasper, the empath, wouldn't be able to continue projecting his doomsday stuff if I attacked him from behind with my emotional hurricane. "We will leave," Maria finally said, and Muscles Twins flashed to stand behind her. "It isn't over yet, though. Not by a long shot." Now I was truly terrified, and Jasper waited until he could no longer see Maria before turning to face me, one arm still wrapped around my waist softly.

"I'm sorry, Bella," he whispered, and he leaned forward, resting his forehead in the crook of my neck where it met my shoulder. "I shouldn't have run away. But… I couldn't…"

"It's fine, Jasper," I mumbled, "It's really fine."

Peter and Charlotte were high-fiving each other behind Jasper's back, and I shot them a nasty glare. Peter mouthed, "Sorry, but I told you so!" I stuck my tongue out at him.

Jasper didn't move away from my shoulder. He spoke to the two without looking at them. "Stop antagonizing Bella, Peter. And Char, I thought you of all people would control your mate." Char's eyes widened, and she proceeded to whack Peter upside the head. Peter winced, and I snickered. Everything felt right again… but Jasper felt strange. I'd gotten used to the doomsday Major, and now that Jasper Hale seemed to be back… I was curious.

"Jasper… Which one is the real you?" I asked.

His head shot up from my shoulder and he stared at me with maroon eyes. "What?"

"Which one are you really? The Jasper I know to be Jasper Hale, or the Jasper who is bold, proud, arrogant, and announces himself as Major Jasper Whitlock?" Conflicting emotions fought in his eyes: awe, shock, calm, anger — I couldn't tell if there was a definite winner or not.

Shock won in me when he replied with, "I don't know."


	8. Ghost of a Rose

**Leather and Lace**

_Ghost of a Rose_

The car ride was silent now. There was no playful banter between me, Char, and Peter; Jasper seemed to be contemplating something, and he hadn't yet released my hand. I wasn't about to try to analyze the reason why he hadn't done so yet, because I knew that the chances of me actually being able to analyze those emotions would be next to none. Sad, yes; true, yes. My stomach grumbled, and I felt my face flame.

"Peter, pull off," Jasper instructed, "Bella needs food."

Peter obliged almost immediately, and I was shocked by the change that Jasper had put him through. This wasn't the Peter that I'd grown to know and love. It was McDonald's. "Petey," I teased, "Sure you don't want to try a chicken nugget?" It was a pathetic attempt to drag my Peter back into existence, but it worked.

"Blech!" Peter said. "You're crazy, Bella! Yuck!" I grinned. "I'd rather eat a dog than a chicken nugget!" I started laughing, and when I glanced over at Jasper, he had a shocked look on his face. "Jesus, are ya tryin' to kill me?" Peter was still going on about my chicken nugget comment.

"Why d'you look so shocked, Jasper?" I asked. "I mean, I realize that my previous encounters with human-eaters haven't been the best, but Charlotte and Peter haven't ever taken a snap at me. If I can trust anyone, it's those two. Wouldn't you agree?" It was a loaded question. _Do you trust me to be with them, and do you trust your coven to take care of me without eating me?_ Peter and Charlotte looked at Jasper with curiousity.

I thought it was hilarious because we were sitting in a McDonald's parking lot while I ate and drank my lunch. "Well," Jasper started. "I mean, I wouldn't say that I don't trust them, but…" He trailed off, and I tried my best not to laugh. Tried is the key word, though. "Don't laugh, Bella!" Jasper begged, but he was laughing, too, so the over-all affect was that we all started to laugh at the ridiculous situation that we were in. It was unreal, to be honest; we were on the run from a famous survivor of the Southern Vampire Wars, and yet we were sitting in a McDonald's parking lot, laughing because Jasper couldn't tell us if he trusted Peter and Charlotte with me or not.

"I trust them," he admitted, "But I thought that maybe you wouldn't trust them, so I told them to behave. Y'all can be yourselves again," he told them, and Charlotte let out a whoop.

"That silence was killin' me!" she grinned. I laughed, and Charlotte nudged me gently. "You gonna eat those nugget-thingies or can I throw'em at Jasper?" I grinned and offered her the box of chicken nuggets.

"Go for it!"

That was when our ultimate Chicken Nugget Battle began. It was the funniest thing I'd ever seen. The big, strong vampire boys were terrified of letting the chicken nuggets get near them, while Char and I were having a blast pelting them with chicken. Jasper swore to never let us eat at another McDonald's. I hoped he was lying, because I hadn't had that much fun in a long, long time.

We were in New Orleans, home of jazz, when Charlotte and Peter decided that Jasper and I needed to spend some time on our own. We agreed with a shrug, and a few minutes later were walking down the streets. I was impressed by the vitality of the city. "It's so amazing. No matter what they've gone through, you'd never guess it. They're all grinning and having fun!" It was a great gift, and it was a sincere compliment. I'd never seen people who were as happy as that to just live life the way they wanted to. Jasper smiled and nodded his head, and I took that to mean that he agreed with me and just didn't feel like admitting it out loud.

He'd stopped by a flower store briefly, and I'd seen a pretty bluebonnet. Jasper had looked at me strangely when I asked him to wait outside the store, but he'd assented and waited patiently for me as I browsed. I bought the bluebonnet, a white rose, and some poppies. I bought the poppies mainly to cover the scent of the bluebonnet, but the rose was because of a song that I loved. Jasper asked me, after I'd retreated from the flower shop, if we could go to a cemetery. While it wasn't the most… 'romantic' fit the best, but it wasn't the word I was looking for… While it wasn't the best place for what I planned, it'd work just fine. _Past, the bluebonnet. Present, the poppies; bright, cheery, and completely Alice. Future, the rose. White is a mystical color, isn't it?_ I was clarifying my thoughts when Jasper turned to me.

"What're ya hidin', Bella?"

I brought out the Texas bluebonnet first. "It symbolizes your past," I whispered, "Because your past makes you who you are today, Jasper. I don't care if the Major Whitlock is the real you or if Jasper Hale is you; you are you because of what you've seen." Awe was in Jasper's eyes after that, and I felt fairly embarrassed. But, this was the only way that I could think of to help him move on after the Alice-Edward thing. I pulled out the poppies, and I knew that he knew what they were to stand for. "It symbolizes your present. Alice. She was the one who brought you out of the addictive darkness and into the light, if we go on what she's mentioned once or twice. Poppies are bright and cheery, much like Alice was, and so they're your present." I gulped. This was the major one.

I brought out the white rose. "This is your future. White, to me, is a mystical color that has no true place in the world but in the future. Roses are known as a symbol of love, so I thought it fit best. Maybe one day, you'll look at a rose and some lucky girl will haunt your mind, a ghost of the rose that you see." I stared at the ground and then whirled. "Yeah, so I'm going to let you think about all of this stuff that I just threw at you… Tell me if I was out of line later."

I was fleeing from him, and that lasted only until I made it to the gate that led into the cemetery.


	9. Far Away

**Leather and Lace**

_Far Away_

Travelling with a playful coven of vampires is actually very fun. Being the sole human, and had I still been with Edward, I'd probably be worried that they were going to eat me. They wouldn't, though. Jasper was a human-drinker again, reverting back to the stage of his life that he had the most strength and power. When I thought about it that way, I realized three things about the Cullen family: One—because they starved themselves from the blood that they so wanted, they made themselves more vulnerable to bloodlust. Two—they really weren't that strong. Peter and Charlotte were stronger than Emmett and Carlisle combined. Three—they were so obsessed with not eating me that they never had fun around me.

Peter, Charlotte, and now Jasper were showing me that vampires could, in fact, have fun with a human. Peter had quickly adopted the big brother role in my life, stealing it away from Emmett with an ease that I'd be worried about were it not Peter. Charlotte was taking the big sister/best friend role, and Jasper… I wasn't sure about the role that Jasper played in this new life of mine. It was a major role, and without him everything would've fallen to pieces many, many times. And…

Without him, I'd not have been able to give up my illusions of life with Edward. After the flower thing in the New Orleans cemetery, when I'd tried to escape, Jasper had caught me. _"It's the same thing for you, Bella," he said, and I'd looked at him with shock. What did he mean?_

_He picked me up and ran me back to the grave that we'd been sitting near, and pulled a brilliant yellow sunflower from behind a stone. He smiled sheepishly at me. "Your past, a sunflower. You came from Phoenix, Arizona, a place where the sun is almost always shining. You lived there, grew up there, and enjoyed all of the sun a person can enjoy there. Your present, a red rose. You were swept up into a whirlwind romance with the wrong guy, and it broke your heart. The red rose means 'I love you', but today, the red rose weeps with your heart." A red rose took its place beside the sunflower. I looked at Jasper, curious now to see the next flower. "Your future, a white rose. White itself is a magical color, waiting to be painted to fit your life. The rose means romance in its simplest form, and one day there will be a man who will haunt your mind as the ghost of a rose."_

After that, I hadn't really been sure of how I was supposed to act around Jasper. "Bella?" I snapped back to reality at Char's gentle voice. "Bella, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, Char," I said, trying to reassure the worried vampire. "I was just thinking about something." She laughed and ruffled my hair.

"Don't worry about anythin', sug," she grinned. "Me, Petey, and Jasper will do all the worryin' for you when it's time." I smiled.

"Alright, Char, if you say so."

I didn't want them to worry for me. I wanted them to be happy, carefree, and worry-free. I'd been causing them a lot of worry, it seemed, and I hated it. They were my friends, my family—they shouldn't worry.

Telling them that was like telling a log that it shouldn't be a log. It just wasn't going to ever work. In the first place, logs don't have ears; they can't hear. In the second place, a person can't defy who they really are, even if that's the only way to save their life. "Where'd you go, muffin?" Peter's voice broke into my thoughts, and my face flamed. Oops, I hadn't planned on getting lost there.

"Into outer space and home once more," I cracked, and Peter's booming laughter filled the cab. "On that note, however, where are we going now, Peter?"

"Well, unless we get lost along the way, we're headin' to Atlanta."

A long, cool arm snaked around my shoulders and I turned to look at Jasper with shock. "Go to sleep, Bella. It's a long drive."

"But what if Mar…?" I trailed off sleepily.

Before sleep hit me like a tidal wave, I swore Jasper said, "I won't let Maria hurt ya, darlin'." Dreams of haunted red eyes and cool black ones stalked me in my dreams that night.


	10. Fairy Dance

**Leather and Lace**

_Fairy Dance_

Atlanta's downtown was a mob of steel buildings that stretched tall into the smoggy sky. It was nowhere near as pretty as Forks, and I realized with that thought that I'd slowly grown fond of the rainy town that I'd banished myself to. "Well, it's not what I expected," I admitted, and Jasper laughed. Char's eyes twinkled, and Peter simply chuckled. "It's not!" I defended myself, and Jasper just laughed harder.

"It's Atlanta, the capital of Georgia," Jasper finally managed to gasp out. "It's not as bad as it could be." I shrugged. It could be worse, but that didn't mean that I had to like it. "Besides, we won't spend much time out in downtown. We'll head somewhere else."

Somewhere else turned out to be Palmetto, Georgia, in a place called Serenbe. Serenbe was filled with a soft quaintness that was both strange and familiar, and I found myself wondering if I'd been there before or not. "Look, Petey! Horses!" Char's delighted squeal made my eyes wander from the little town of Serenbe to the stables that dominated the corner before the town. My jaw must've dropped. There was pasture upon pasture of horses, and the stable was a stone building that had a small woman with a wide, wild grin standing in the doorway. "Wow!" Charlotte said, and I silently agreed with her.

"We should probably stay here. Bella, go ask the lady if she minds us stayin' till nightfall." I grinned and dashed out of the truck, making sure that not much sunlight made it in to the truck. I slowed to a walk when I got closer to the stable door.

"Um…" I trailed off, and the small woman turned to look up at me.

"Hello, dear!" she smiled, "I'm Mindy. What's up?"

I smiled in response and said, "I'm Bella Swan. I was wondering… You don't mind if my friends and I hang out here till later? We've been driving for a long time now, and I think they need the sleep. I'd drive around, but I don't know Georgia at all and I'd probably get lost…" I was rambling, so I quickly shut up. Mindy's brown eyes were glowing with amusement and she sent a friendly wave towards the truck.

"Don't worry," she said, "I don't mind. You can watch our show jumpers practice. It's pretty impressive." I smiled and trotted back to the truck.

"We're good to go," I said, and the three vampires whooped. I snickered. "She also wants us to watch the show jumpers practice. She says they're pretty impressive." Even as I spoke, a slender girl with shoulder length blonde hair led a tall brown horse to the ring. Jasper was grinning.

"I haven't seen horses and riders in such a long time," and I thought he sounded somewhat wistful. I sighed. Poor Jasper. He had probably grown up with horses, and now he couldn't even get near them. "It'll be fun to see how much horseback ridin' has changed over the years." He sounded happier then, and I relaxed slightly. The blonde girl was followed by a tall brunette who led a skinny brown horse. The brunette was grinning and laughing the entire time, and Jasper's eyes never really left her.

An unfamiliar emotion sprung to life when I realized that, and a frown tugged at my lips. I stomped out the emotion before Jasper could catch it and tried to remove the frown, but it was insistent upon remaining where it was. I growled low and gave up. I watched the horses, and since Jasper was so caught up with the brunette, I watched her, too.

Whenever they jumped a round, she whooped and scratched the horse's neck. The horse would then prance and toss its head merrily, inciting merry laughter to resonate from the girl into the slit windows of our truck. Jasper's tense shoulders relaxed every time he heard the laughter. I soon grew to know the emotion that snuck up behind me when that happened as 'jealousy'. The whole cycle lasted for about an hour and a half. The brunette girl rode her horse back to the barn, and Jasper suddenly said, "Bella, go talk to her. Ask her name." I was shocked, but I did what he asked. Jasper didn't really ask me to do anything, so I was happy to do something for him.

She was hosing the horse down when I walked up, and the horse bit the air around me when I approached. "Good horsey!" I cried, not wanting to be bitten. The girl laughed and came around to scratch his nose.

"Be a good boy, now, Slim," she said, and her husky voice was delicate as well as strong. "I'm Blaise," she smiled, and offered a tan hand to me. I shook it.

"I'm Bella Swan." She grinned.

"You one-upped me! No fair! Fine, fine, I'm Blaise Siwel. I've lived in Georgia my whole life." I could tell that much from the honey-sweet Southern accent that marked her voice. "I'm pretty sure I've roots that date back to the Civil War, but I dunno," she said thoughtfully, and then she looked at me. "I'd move, Bella, less you wanna get wet. Slim Jim here isn't the best about gettin' bathed." I stepped away just as the horse whinnied and pawed the ground. Blaise smiled at me.

"See ya later, Miss Swan." She teased, and I took the opportunity to escape back to the truck.

"Her name's Blaise Siwel. She's lived in Georgia her whole life, and she's pretty sure she has roots dating back to the Civil War."

Jasper's eyes were huge. "Siwel… I wonder…" He spent the next few hours silently, and I talked to Charlotte and Peter, curious because it wasn't really in my nature to be jealous. Blaise didn't leave even after it got dark, and Jasper evacuated the truck. I stared after him with pain as he approached the Southern girl. Not once did he take a snap at her. I left the truck and Blaise waved at me wildly.

"You didn't tell me you knew one of my cousins, Bella!" She had a wild grin on her face. "I've not met one of the Whitlocks for a long time, now, and it's great to know that they're still around! It was great to meet ya, Jasper, but I've gotta go now." She danced off towards the blonde girl and the blonde girl's car. She jumped into the passenger seat and the two roared out of the stable yard. Jasper's maroon eyes swung to me then.

"Now, Bella, you've got some explainin'." I blushed. "Why were you so jealous up till now?"

I didn't want to answer. Jasper knew it, and sighed. "I won't force you to tell me. If you tell me, great. If you don't, that's fine, too. I don't really care one way or another. I do get the feelin' that it has to do with Blaise. She's my cousin, Bella, and I'd only seen a girl that good with horses once before. That girl's my sister's great-great-great-granddaughter. That makes her my niece." My jaw dropped again.

"Yo, Jasper, me'n Char are goin' to go huntin'. Ya'll should hang out here for a while. Okay?"

"Go for it, Peter!" Jasper called back, and just like that, they were gone. Suddenly, Jasper scooped me up and then we were standing in a clear field, the tall grass swaying gently around us. Jasper's eyes never left mine as he sank into a bow. My eyes never left his as I dipped into an awkward curtsey. He swept me into a dancing form, and I felt obliged to give him fair warning.

"I can't dance, Jasper."

When he spoke next, it was a soft whisper in my ear. "Forget all of it, Bella. Just trust me. Forget everything else." His voice washed away all embarrassment that might've marred my dance. I followed Jasper's lead, and we were swirling around the field softly, twirling and smiling. I was having a great time, and what with the way the moon and the stars seemed to sparkle, a distant childhood dream came back. A dream of a fairy dance beneath the moon and the stars in a field of amber, gently-swaying grass.

I looked at Jasper and smiled. I didn't care how he knew about that dream, I was just thankful that this mysterious vampire was granting me my childhood dream of a fairy dance.


	11. Firelight

**Leather and Lace**

_Firelight_

We were on the road again a few hours after my fairy dance with Jasper. His arm was wrapped around my shoulders loosely, and I was relaxing into the safety of said arm when the truck squealed to a sudden stop. "Peter?" Jasper wondered. "Peter, what the fuck's wrong?"

I was curious about that, too. No matter how bad of a driver he may be at times, he never slammed on the brakes without a good reason. "We got comp'ny." He said, and those three simple words made my brain fly into overdrive. _Jaysus, can't be more cryptic than that! Now that I'm remembering more about Alice and Eddie-brat, I'm going to get so freaked out by Peter and the Magic Box of Information!_

Jasper's low growl was a steady constant, and it was strange how I'd gotten used to it. "Well, our comp'ny's chosen the wrong coven to go after." I knew the husky voice that left Jasper's throat, and I knew the doomsday feelings that he sent out like light-beams. "What's the problem, Peter?" This husky Southern voice was sending shivers down my spine, and I could only assume that the reason I got all shivery was the same reason I'd gotten jealous earlier.

"Hi there, Major Whitlock," I murmured, looking at the Major from the corner of my eye. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

The maroon-eyed Major looked down at me with amusement and delicately sent a stray lock of mahogany hair to rest behind my ear. He leaned down near my ear and whispered, "The pleasure is all mine, Miss Bella."

I knew that the shiver from _that_ was by no means related to fear. "Peter, Charlotte! We got company and we'd best start preparin' for it! Who's it, d'ya know?" The Major instantly straightened and barked out orders.

"No, sir, we were hopin' that you did."

The Major took a deep breath in through his nose, and a wicked, feral snarl left him after. "Dear God Almighty, it's the Pixie and her brat of a brother. Peter, get your ass in motion and start drivin'!"

I shuddered. Of _course_ it had to be Alice and Eddie-brat. Of _course._

"Jasper… Wait, what do you want me to call you?" I asked, realizing then that Char and Peter almost never referred to the Major as Jasper, or as _anything_ in specific. His maroon eyes grinned at me with amusement at my indecision, and a knee-melting grin curled his lips. The truck jolted back into motion, nearly rocketing me into Major/Jasper. He caught me and braced me gently, careful not to bruise me.

"You, little darlin', can call me Jasper." Okay, so now that we'd accomplished that…

I released my fear from its delighted prison and knew exactly when it hit Jasper. His eyes darkened and he abruptly lifted me from the seat I'd been in (Whoops, maybe a seatbelt would've been a good idea…) and put me in his lap.

"I ain't gonna let anythin' happen to you, darlin'. I swear that. And that damn brat ain't gonna lay a hand on ya while I'm 'round, got that?" Even though his words could be taken as brash and mean, the way he said them made me feel so safe that it was crazy. "I swear that there ain't anythin' that'll hurt you while _I'm _around."

With that, and the strange wisps of firelight that seemed to be playing in his maroon eyes, I knew that neither Jasper Whitlock nor Major Jasper Whitlock would dare let anything hurt me or hurt me himself. I was truly safe in the company of the feared Major Jasper Whitlock.

I settled myself against the vibrating Major and whispered a soft, "Thank you, Jasper," before letting the comforting darkness of sleep take over. Obviously, Jasper was manipulating me so that I didn't get so scared.

I was grateful for that.


	12. Terrified

**Leather and Lace**

_Terrified_

The squealing metallic keening was what woke me up from the Jasper-induced sleep, and I shot up as straight as I could get. The only reason I didn't sit straight up was because Jasper was holding on to me protectively. I narrowed my eyes in the general direction of where the windshield should be, but it wasn't there.

"Um. Peter, dude, I don't normally complain about the way you drive, but I'm pretty sure that there's supposed to be a piece of glass separating the driver and passenger from the hood of the truck. Where'd it go?" Charlotte cracked up, Peter's shoulders were shaking in his desperate attempt at remaining silent, and even the stoic Major Whitlock—_Jasper_, I corrected mentally—was laughing. "What? It's a valid point!" I protested.

"Well, I guess I could say we hit a tree, but trees don't make a keenin' sound like what you heard. So… well, Peter tried to run Alice and Edward over, and the truck was on the losin' side." Charlotte explained, and I started laughing.

"You'd think a vampire would know…mmph!" Jasper's hand gently clamped down over my mouth, efficiently shutting me up, and I stared with shock as Edward and Alice seemed to materialize on the hood of the truck.

"That was rude," Alice said, and suddenly I realized that she was probably scanning through the future and showing the possible outcomes of whatever it was that they wanted to achieve. _No! If she does that, she's going to hurt my family!_ A huge wave of protectiveness crashed down on me, and then something in me just kind of snapped outward, a lot like a rubber band that had been held in one place for too long that was finally released. Frustration suddenly clouded Edward's face, and Alice seemed to be in a state of shock.

"They disappeared," she muttered, "And I can't see anything about them. Edward, can you read them?"

"No." His flat reply gave away how hard he was trying to read the minds of my family. At that moment, I didn't really care about how it was that they couldn't do anything to us; I was just pleased that my family was protected from them.

"Why are you here, Alice?" Jasper snarled, and I scooted in closer to him. His maroon eyes were flickering with a dangerous light, and I seriously didn't want to be in Alice's place _ever_ if the two were in a face-off ever again.

Alice started pouting. "Well, I saw that you were going to go all human-eating again, and I thought that I'd save you from yourself, Jazzy."

I bit my lip to stop myself from snickering at the _very_ inappropriate nickname. The Major sure wasn't going to like that one bit.

Rage raced out from Jasper in waves, and it hit Alice like a brick. Her face twisted into confusion, and I momentarily wondered why I wasn't getting crazily pissed off. "Who the _fuck_ are you callin' _Jazzy?"_ The Major boomed, and Alice shuddered. "I am Major Jasper Whitlock, ma'am, and you can call me Major, or sir."

Suddenly, I wasn't cradled against Jasper's side. I was outside of the car, in very familiar and unwanted arms. "Come back with me, Bella," Edward whispered, and his velvety voice sounded rough in my ears. I'd gotten used to the husky Southern accent that coated my family's voices, and the sweet sound that was Jasper's voice. I didn't want to go anywhere with Edward Cullen.

"Let me go!" I screamed, and my coven evacuated the truck like it was about to explode in that instant. Jasper's upper lip was curled high above his teeth in a feral snarl, Peter's grinning red eyes weren't so red anymore, and Charlotte's eyes held a faint trace of fear.

"_Let her go."_

The terrifying growl came from Jasper, and I looked at his eyes to see pitch-black darkness. And yet, it wasn't Jasper that terrified me.

It was Edward, the fact that he was holding me, and the fact that he could do just about anything to me then.


	13. Phoenix

**Leather and Lace**

_Phoenix_

I started struggling, trying my best to escape from Edward's arms. It was a futile effort, but I was trying to prove that I didn't want to be _anywhere_ near him. Jasper's already sable eyes turned even darker, if that was possible, and he moved with such speed that he just disappeared. Edward wasn't prepared for Jasper to rip me from his arms, so he surrendered me with complete ease. I snickered; it seemed like Edward's gift was out and down for the count.

"You good-fer-nothin' god-awful _bastard!"_ Jasper snarled, and Edward's golden eyes widened. "I can't believe you were stupid enough to try stealin' Bella away from me!" Tears were seeping down my face for the pain that Jasper must've been feeling to react this way. It was my fault that he was hurt like this, but it was truly for the better.

I just wished that it hadn't been me that had hurt him. I just wished that it hadn't been my bitch of a best friend that had broken him. "I'm sorry, Jasper," I whispered.

I forgot about vampire hearing. "What the hell?" Alice's shrill voice demanded. "I can't call you Jazzy, but she can call you Jasper?"

The ferocious growl rumbled beneath my ear like thunder. Jasper was cradling me in his arms, and my ear rested against his vibrating chest lightly. "Yeah, she can, miss, 'cause Bella ain't a good-fer-naught bitch." The truck exploded then.

Like, fireball-explosion-with-a-mushroom-cloud exploded. Peter and Charlotte, of course, were already herding Jasper and me away from the truck when it happened, what with vampires being somewhat flammable, but Edward and Alice were left to their own devices on how to get away form the flaming metal ball. "Why wasn't I warned about the truck goin' 'ka-boooom'?" Jasper demanded, and Peter had the grace to look sheepish.

"I forgot about it, Major." Jasper sighed and gathered me closer to him.

"C'mon, Peter, Char. We're goin' for a run. I dunno why, but I wanna get closer to the woods now. Let's head back towards shady places, got it?"

We started running again, and the entire time, Major Jasper Whitlock was whispering stories to me about how the phoenix rose from the flames and ashes of the sorrowful past to be strong and new the next day.


	14. Ashes

**Leather and Lace**

_Ashes_

The one thing from Jasper's tales of the mighty phoenix that I had to admit to realizing was that the phoenix was always the unexpected hero-slash-heroine. "Bella, darlin'," Jasper whispered, "I know you're awake. Ain't ya goin' ta say somethin'?"

The husky words—and the words themselves—gave away that it was still the Major who held me. "Why, Jasper, what've I got to say?" I teased. "I'm just a girl who's getting dragged halfway across the US by an eager coven of vampires. Where're we heading now?" Jasper snickered, and as I watched, the harsh planes of the Major's face relaxed into softer planes of Jasper Hale. I watched the transformation curiously. Jasper saw my look. All I said was "You'll have to figure out the happy medium between the two of you soon" and moved along.

I was still thinking about phoenixes and the ashes that they rose from. Were they still hot, those ashes, or had they cooled? All that had been said was that the phoenix would die in the evening, and the next morning there'd be a new phoenix hanging out above the older ashes that were there. And that raised another question: did the ashes have to be ancient? Or could they be very, very recent?

I was giving myself a headache with all of the thoughts that were racing around my head. I blinked and took a look around our surroundings. Looming up above us was a gigantic mansion. "Holy crow," I breathed. "What _is_ this?"

"This is our new home," Jasper said. "It's something that Peter, Char, and I bought a few years back. D'you like it?"

_Do I like it? 'S not so bad, it's freakin' amazing! _Is what I wanted to say. What I said instead: "Uh-huh." It was all that I could get my throat to agree to let out. Charlotte nudged me.

"Muffin, close your mouth unless you want a bug to take up residency in it."

My jaw snapped shut, and I let my vampires lead me into my new home.

That night, after I'd "gone to sleep", I crawled out of bed and headed into the living room. There was a small fire crackling in the fireplace, and I snickered softly. It seemed like the vampires didn't like being perpetually cold. "Bella, I know you're there. I can smell ya."

I sighed and padded over to the huge couch where Jasper sat. He had a book open on his lap, and his eyes were laughing at me. "Did you really think you'd be able to sneak up on one of us?" he wondered. I stuck my tongue out at him.

"I thought it was worth a try."

We sat in silence for a while. "Peter and Charlotte went out hunting again," Jasper said suddenly. I nodded, confused as to why he'd said that, but shrugging it off instead of pursuing the reason seemed easiest. I didn't ask any questions about it. I glanced at Jasper from the corner of my eye, and again was awed by the subtle transformation of Jasper to Major.

"You really do need to find a happy medium, Jasper," I said. The Major smirked.

"Yeah, well, it'll take a li'l bit, darlin'." He draped a cool arm over my shoulders, and I figured I'd take the one-on-one time with the Major to ask questions about the stories.

"Hey, Jasper… About those phoenixes and the ashes…"

The Major grinned. "How'd I know?" he drawled, "That you were gonna ask me 'bout that? I don't know nothin' about the state of the ashes, Bella, but I know that the phoenix is a proud bird, because it knows that no matter what pain it goes through, it'll always be able to see the next day."

I turned and looked at the major. From that point, it was clear to me that I'd already done _my _phoenix-like rise. "Well then, Major Jasper Whitlock, I think it's time for you to rise from the ashes and see the new day. You've got a wonderful family who'll help you through every bit of the rise. It starts with your happy medium, too." I said, and suddenly, Jasper was resting his forehead against my own.

"You're the only one, Bella," he whispered, "Who doesn't look at me and pity me for my scars, who doesn't look at me and see a monster. I can't let Pete and Char see me like this for too long 'cause it scares them shitless."

It was starting to make sense to me. Peter and Charlotte had seen Jasper's death and the ashes; he needed me to look beyond the death and into the ashes where the phoenix resided. Peter's cryptic, "You're the only one who can help him," was making sense, too.

It scared me, but all I could do was wrap my arms around the Major who was feeling fear and try my best to comfort him.


	15. Possibilites

**Leather and Lace**

_Possibilities_

Sunlight streamed through the window with an ease that actually managed to piss me off. I didn't want to wake up. I liked the dream that I'd been having, of a peaceful conversation in front of a crackling fireplace. Then I shot straight up and my jaw dropped. When the heck had I gotten back into my bedroom? "Sorry, Bella," Jasper said, "But you passed out, and while I'm sure sleepin' on the couch was fun, it didn't look too comfy so I moved ya."

I'd jumped about a foot, and Jasper had the grace to finish telling me when and why I'd been moved to my bedroom before bursting out laughing. As my sleepy eyes began to readjust to the sudden stream of sunlight, when I looked at Jasper again I had to do a double take. He had the Major's strong features, but his eyes were a little bit softer. Either the Major had fallen in love with me, or he was trying to forge a bond between him and Jasper Hale to find that happy medium I'd mentioned. "Bella, darlin'?" he asked, eyes worried, "Is everythin' okay?"

I nodded at him, and he smiled. He sat down by me on the bed and whispered, "Don't you worry 'bout a thing, Bella. Me'n Peter'n Char are gonna take care of you. I promise." He'd inaccurately gauged my silence to be worry—or fear—for the people that were stalking me.

"It's not that, Jasper," I said. I was about to start saying more, but then I didn't. I just couldn't. I was tongue-tied, and I felt my cheeks flame helplessly. It was an awful sensation, one that probably had a lot to do with my sudden heart-racing confliction. Jasper sighed, and suddenly two cool arms tugged me into a gentle hug. We stayed like that for a few minutes, and I found myself pressing my cheek to his chest softly. It wasn't a hug between friends; the way I was hugging him was something… more.

_Don't worry,_ whispered the sudden emotions that spilled from Jasper, _We'll not breath a word. But we'll also not let you be harmed, us or the Major. We'll be your support system, Bella. We'll be your possibilities._

And just like that, something shifted in my world.


	16. Intruder

_Leather and Lace_

Intruder

I was faced with a decision that scared me. There were two options facing me, and neither one was welcoming. I could scream, thus alerting the intruder that I was there and alive, and also alerting my vampires to the fact that I was being attacked. Or I could remain silent, let the intruder find me on his own, and kill me. I didn't like either option. _Jasper, Jasper, Jasper, Jasper! _I screamed mentally. For the first time, I found myself wishing that Jasper was a mind reader and that he could read my mind.

_How did this happen? How? This doesn't make any sense… How did he find this place? How did he get in? _"Hello?" a young, male voice called. "Is anyone home?" Footsteps echoed dully in my ears as the man entered my bedroom. "Miss? Mister?"

I held my breath as the foot steps got closer to my hiding place. I could imagine him leaning down, spotting me, and going for the gun that I knew was hidden in his waistband. "If there's no one here, then I am leaving…" But the footsteps never receded. I heard the sounds of him rummaging through my drawers. I was _terrified_, beyond belief.


	17. Remembering

_Author's Note: Mean4Life, I have to admit, I am making us Southerners sound like hillbillies… but it's the easiest way to get my point across. It could be worse—I could be making us sound like back-wood hillbillies who aren't educated!_

**Leather and Lace**

_Remembering_

I couldn't help the fear. I admitted that. But what I could do was sit there in the cramped closest and _remember._ I wasn't brave enough to shout out to my vampire, nor was I brave enough to die yet—but I would remember. I would remember how this had happened so that I wouldn't make the same mistake again.

"_I'm going to go hunting, Bella," Jasper whispers, and I smile at him. "I'll be back soon, okay? I think Peter and Charlotte should get back before me, but if they don't, oh well." My blond Major grins at me. "Anyways, be smart." Jasper leaves, and I hear the click of the lock. He always locks the door after he leaves. It's better that way, I know, but still, it's a tiny hassle that shows me he cares. _

_I hum a tune beneath my breath as I start towards the fridge. I know that Jasper will have left something in there for me, and that he'll have made it just for me. Then again, I am the only human in the house so it's only natural that he makes it for me. The fridge makes a metallic clinking noise when I tug it open, and I wince. I hate how empty the mansion sounds when it's just me in it. I keep waiting for Peter to start laughing at me, or Charlotte to help me out with the chores, but it seems like they're trying to keep as far away from me as they can. It sucks. But it's what gives me the chance to be alone with Jasper!_

_Suddenly I hear the lock as it slowly snicks open, and I drop the plate I was holding. Who could be coming back? Peter, surely, or Charlotte… but they don't open the lock that slow. "H-Hello?" I whisper. When the door clicks shut almost silently, fear races through my veins and I charge towards my room. I'm amazed that I can move, but I have other things on my mind and I focus on them. Such as, this person is in my home and I don't know who they are or how they got in. How they knew where the extra key was hidden. _

I was jerked back to reality by a familiar sound, one that I hadn't heard in a long time. Someone was snarling meanly, and someone else was growling. The man in my room froze, and then I heard a sound that Charlie had made when he was removing the safety of his gun. That awful sound of a loaded gun being checked to make sure that it was okay to fire, that familiar, crime-show 'snick'. I heard it within my own room, and I knew that it was going to be used against my family. "Bella, girl? Bella?" Peter growled, and I heard him clumping to my door. The door opened with an awful creak and when I was sure Peter was in my room, I shrieked as loud as I could and hoped that he'd get to me before the bullet in that gun did.

I was surrounded by cold when my world sank into darkness.


	18. Enraged

**Leather and Lace**

_Enraged_

I woke to the sound of Jasper's voice as he angrily hissed at Peter and Charlotte. Memory was slow to ignite, but when I finally began to remember what events had occurred before I'd passed out, I started to freak out. "He…he… he…" I stammered, and almost instantly the Major's red eyes were looking into mine with concern. "He was g-g-going to s-s-shoot you…" I trailed off, and let the sobs control me. I cried hard enough that my whole body shook from it. "I was s-s-so scared!" I sobbed, and Jasper pulled me close to him.

"I am so sorry, Bella," he murmured. "I won't let it happen to you again. I swear it." Peter and Charlotte looked on solemnly, and I felt bad. "I'm sorry," Jasper breathed again, and I slowly wrapped my arms around him. He was solid and comforting, and he smelled like the woods and an old campfire. He didn't release me even as he barked out orders at Charlotte and Peter. "Peter! Go make sure that there are no signs of the male. Charlotte, I need you to go make somethin' soothin' for Bella. Her heart's beatin' all too fast for it to be normal." Emotions that were almost tangible raced out of Jasper and wrapped around me, reminding me of a puppy that tried to console its sobbing master. I smiled briefly through the onslaught of tears that charged down my face. Peter and Charlotte blurred out of the room.

"It wasn't your fault, Jasper," I whispered. "It was mine. I should've realized that leaving the spare key beneath that old flowerpot was a stupid idea." Jasper's arms tightened minutely around me.

"If it ain't one thing, it's another," he sighed. "We're worryin' about Maria and her sadistic army, Eddie-boy and Alice, and now human thieves. Can't we catch a break?" he demanded. I nestled closer to him, not caring that he was like a block of ice and would probably freeze me sooner or later.

When Peter seemed to materialize out of nowhere, I squeaked a bit and that set Jasper on edge. In one small second, he'd placed himself in front of me and left an arm wrapped around my waist protectively, growling at the 'enemy'. Peter raised his hands slowly into the "I surrender" sign. "Easy, there, Major," he cautioned. "It's just me. Muffin, you okay?" he asked, directing his attention to me. Jasper slowly relaxed and dropped his arm from around my waist. I smiled at Peter.

"I'm feeling better. And whatever it is that Char's making smells really good. Can one of you get me down there?"

I wasn't sure who it was that grabbed me and ran me down to the kitchen, but they were both there when I blinked and saw the kitchen around me. "That just isn't right," I grumbled. "I'm so unlucky that I attract the only thief desperate enough to climb a freakin' mountain to try to rob your mansion, yet you have super-speed and grace."

Peter and Jasper started laughing, and I felt pleased with myself. I'd managed to erase the tension that had been so tangible earlier. "Thank you, Char," I whispered when she slid a mug of hot chocolate in front of me. I went to take a sip and was surprised when there was a spicy hint to it that was somewhat similar to cinnamon, but was also gifted with the good surprise of realizing that it wasn't hot chocolate, but it was warm. It didn't burn my tongue at all. I grinned at my friend. "Thank you!" She grinned back and leaned against the marble counter.

"I say we move," Jasper said. I took a look at his profile and saw that he still wore the facial structure of the Major. "I don't want to put Bella in danger, and if that idiot human made it up here, then who's to say that more won't come?"

"Where do you suggest we go, then?" Peter asked.

"There's always that place in North Carolina," Charlotte suggested. I was still drinking the warm chocolate when suddenly it was dragged from my grasp and dumped down the sink.

"Charlotte, go help Bella pack. We're leaving now," Jasper commanded, and I was run up to my room. Charlotte packed, and I just kind of sat there. _Now what's going on?_ I wondered.

Something had to be going on. Otherwise, Peter and Jasper wouldn't have looked so enraged.


	19. Beginning

**Leather and Lace**

_Beginning_

It was while we were running from that huge mansion that everything suddenly clicked for me. "Oh, my God!" I gasped, and the vampires slammed on the breaks. We were in the middle of the woods, thankfully, but I was very lucky that Jasper was holding onto me when they all stopped. "Jasper, I understand it now!"

It was falling into place, like pieces of a jig-saw puzzle. Alice was a seer, Edward read minds, Maria led an army of newborns, and there were people in the world who thought that becoming a vampire was the ultimate thing to do. When I thought about it like that, it was crystal clear. "It's Edward and Alice, Jasper! It's them!" Jasper had a look of complete confusion on his face, and Peter was echoing that expression almost perfectly. Charlotte, though, had caught on to a little bit of what I was saying and she had a "oh… wait…" look on her face. "It's Edward and Alice! They're manipulating everyone!"

Jasper's upper lip curled high and he roared angrily. It was a wordless roar, one that emphasized the fact that he was infuriated, and I soon saw Peter's face twist with disgust. "She's right," Peter snarled. "I was so busy thinkin' of them all as separate parties that I didn't see that they was workin' all together on it." Charlotte had come over to me quietly and gathered me into a huge hug. "Alice is the seer, Eddie has his mind-readin', and Maria leads the biggest newborn army ever. What power-hungry human wouldn't listen to those three manipulators?"

Charlotte released me, and I was instantly inside the safe circle of Major Jasper Whitlock's arms. "I will _never_ let them hurt you!" he growled, and from the way that it sounded like his voice was right in my ear, I gathered that he'd bent his head so that it was over mine. I felt a gentle press of what must've been Jasper's lips against the crown of my head. "I can't believe I didn't see this. Goddammit!" he roared, and gently crushed me against his chest. I inhaled the woodsy-smoky scent that was Jasper, and slowly began to relax. I didn't doubt his words. I knew that he'd do anything to keep me safe, and I knew that he'd succeed. I wrapped my arms around Jasper's neck slowly, and stood on tiptoe. I didn't know if I'd be able to tell him this at any other time, or if I'd even see him again after this, but what with the crowd of emotions that was racing over me, I felt it necessary to tell him.

I whispered directly into his ear.

"Major Jasper Whitlock, I think I might be in love with you. I'm not sure if I am, but I think I'm getting to that point, and I don't want to complicate things now, but I thought you might want to know since I'm the one who got you into this mess."

Jasper froze, the growl that had been rumbling in his chest stopping dead in its tracks. Charlotte and Peter coughed, and I heard them recede away. I briefly wondered if I'd made a mistake in telling Jasper, but decided that I shouldn't doubt my sudden burst of bravery. I'd never had that before, so maybe it was a good thing.

A chuckle started in Jasper's chest. "Miss Swan," he drawled, "I think you might have the worst timin' of any girl I know." I felt my face heat up, and knew that I was blushing bright red. I pressed my face into Jasper's icy chest. "However, I…" He trailed off, and suddenly a warm feeling swirled around me, followed by a feeling of something that was warm and fuzzy on the inside but as hard as stone on the outside. They raced around me, entwined within one another, and then Jasper's hand was lifting my chin up, leaning my head back to face him. The warm feelings were still wrapping around me. _Protectiveness, and what? Oh, Lord, please don't tell me he doesn't feel the same. Please don't tell me that he thinks of me as a little sister or something… Oh God…_

"Bella Swan, calm down," Jasper instructed. "If you'll listen to me for a moment, I'll clear things up, but your storm cloud of emotion is messin' up my moment here!" The warm feelings strengthened suddenly, and I started to calm down slightly. "Only you, in the midst of all this violence, could decide that it was the best time to confess to someone." I looked him straight in the eye and saw a liquid warmth to the ruby-red there. "And only I would think it funny, too. Bella, darlin', as bad as a time it may be…"

He leaned down and whispered in my ear, "Miss Isabella Swan, I think I might be in love with you, too." And then, in the flurry of fear, desperation, and God knows what else, Jasper gently pressed his lips against my own.


	20. Guardian

**Leather and Lace**

_Guardian_

"Well, isn't this a pretty sight," someone drawled, and Jasper's reaction was instantaneous. He broke the kiss, let out a bone-shaking snarl, and crouched down in front of me with an arm around my waist in what seemed like the exact same second. He pulled me close to him, and I didn't resist. The way that his arm was curled around me didn't look very comfortable, but he didn't complain. "I'm sorry, did we interrupt something?" the voice drawled again, and Jasper growled.

"That's a 'yes'," a familiar voice chimed sweetly, and I stiffened. "Hello again, Jazzy!"

"I've told you before, lady," Jasper growled, "I ain't Jazzy. I am Major, or sir. Not _Jazzy." _Alice pouted at him, and my heart twisted. _What if he falls for it? What if he thinks she's better than me? What if he leaves me?_

Jasper squeezed my waist reassuringly, and I blushed. "I was trying to make sure that we got here before they started kissing, but no, someone just _had_ to get lost," someone grumbled. Actually, 'someone' wasn't right. Edward was the grumbler.

"What the hell, Jasper? Why are you touching her?" Edward roared, and I smiled. That was the reaction that I'd been expecting. Edward's possessiveness always showed up at ridiculous times. "Get your hands off of her!"

"Well, now, I dunno if that's a good idea," Peter drawled, and I grinned. Leave it to Peter to know exactly when to return from his escapade to the woods. "After all, it's probably Bella that's keepin' the Major sane at the moment. What y'all interrupted was a confession of pure feelin's, and the Major's kinda touchy when it comes to Bella's emotions." _And how is it that you know this, Peter?_

That was a question that I'd store away to ask about later. "And Maria, we aren't gonna hand her over. She's ours." Charlotte's quiet voice was right beside me, and I was proud of myself for not startling. Peter and Charlotte placed their hands on my shoulders, and I felt security fall over me peacefully. I had the three scariest vampires on my side. There wasn't really anything that I needed to worry about.

"They're plotting how to get out of this," Edward said suddenly. "I can read them."

_No!_

That strange sensation of an internal rubber band snapping outwards cracked through my body, and I almost collapsed from the shock of it. Edward's face suddenly went blank, as did Alice's, and I didn't know what that meant. "They're gone," Alice whispered numbly. "Why are they gone? Why can't I see them? What just happened?" This time, there was no exploding truck to distract them from trying to figure out what was happening. Charlotte squeezed my shoulder gently, and then I was in Jasper's arms.

"We're leavin', Peter. Are we gonna make it?" It was a vague question, one that could've meant _are we gonna make it out of here _to _are we gonna survive this entire experience_.

"Yes."

The vampires were running before Peter even finished saying the one syllable required. Jasper held me tight against his chest and swore that we'd be able to have time alone together one day, and that we'd plan a date or something like that after Alice, Edward, and Maria were out of the picture—he wanted to get this batch of guardian duties out of the way before he picked up another one.

I didn't know when that one day was going to be, but I began looking forward to it as he promised it.


	21. Passing

**Leather and Lace**

_Passing_

Time passes, even when people beg it not to. It still continues on, weaving different paths and ways that life could follow, dragging along the people who scream for it to stop, to freeze in its tracks, to leave them alone. For me, the passage of time was one that was filled with a paranoid fear of Maria, Edward, and Alice. I remembered bits and pieces of the months that flew by; images and faces passed in blurs in my memory. The steady constant was Peter, Charlotte, and Jasper. "Don't you worry, hon," Char says in those memories, "We're gonna keep you safe from those bastards."

Peter smiles sweetly over the top of Char's head.

Jasper growls at them to leave, and they do, but only until it's time for Jasper to feed. Then I am passed along to Peter or Char, and I stay within the cool confines of my family's arms. I can do nothing but fear the day that Maria and Alice and Edward finally get past whatever it is that happened in the forest that day. Sometimes, I can feel whispers in my mind of my rubber band returning, and each time I do, fear trickles through my veins a little bit stronger, and I want to start running just a little bit faster.

But now, time freezes, and I don't want it to. I want time to keep racing forward, carrying me away from Maria, Alice, and Edward.

Instead, it deposits me right back in the place where it all began.

Forks, Washington.


	22. Rain

**Leather and Lace**

_Rain_

It rains constantly in Forks. Before I'd moved there, I hadn't known how much rain there could be on one single place of the country. I'd said before that Forks was an inconsequential little town, and when I'd said it, I'd meant it. Now, I can't say that. Forks held more than a life changing experience for me, and now, there wasn't anything I could do to change it.

Anything that I _would_ do to change it.

"Bella?" Charlotte questioned, and I turned to look at her. Sitting in Carlisle's office without Carlisle was very strange, but the fact that my Southern vampire friends were with me overrode that weirdness. "Are you okay, sugar?"

"Yes, Char, I'm fine. Just getting over the weirdness of being in Carlisle's office without Carlisle being in it." After all, I'd spent more time in this office than I'd spent in the kitchen. It seemed like all my memories of the Cullen house had to do with me, hurt, or me, bleeding. Carlisle was the only one who dared to be near me when that happened, and as that was, we'd gotten kind of close. "Is Jasper back yet?"

"Not yet, but Peter is. I'm gonna leave y'all and go huntin'." Peter flashed into the office as Charlotte left, and I had no doubt that they'd had a hidden exchange at vampire speed.

"Hey, Petey," I teased, and Peter grinned.

"Yo, Muffintop."

_Muffintop? What?_ I'd gotten used to being called muffin. . .but I'd never been called muffintop before. "How was the hunt?"

"Surprisingly boring. The crack heads in Seattle are incredibly tame, or incredibly willing to die." I groaned. Crack heads, wonderful.

"Vampires can't get high, can they?"

"Well, normal vampires can't. I can't speak for the Jazzman, though."

I snickered at Jasper's nickname. Had he heard that, he surely would've mauled Peter. I was the only one that got away with Jazz, or sometimes Jazzy. "Peter, is it strange for me to not want to be here?" I asked suddenly. My random question shocked even me, because it had been so long since the last time Peter and I had held a heart-to-heart.

Peter seemed to realize that I was asking an important question, so he sat down in Carlisle's chair—that, too, was incredibly strange. Red eyes looked at me in place of the golden ones that I'd been used to seeing look at me from that chair. "I… miss them, Peter. I miss Emmett's booming laughter, and I miss Rose's delicate sneers. I miss Esme's warmth, and I miss Carlisle's love. Why did they leave?"

Peter stayed silent as I poured my questions out.

"Well, Bella, I think you're movin' on, and that's what counts now," he said at last. "They were the first people to treat ya like a person, I believe, so it's right for ya to miss'em. But ya can't keep waitin' for somethin' that belongs to the past, 'cause Muffin, there ain't a shot in _hell_ that the past is goin'ta give it back to ya."

I stared out the window and willed the rain to wash away the past, because longing after it wasn't something that I should be doing. "I wonder how Charlie's doing…"

After all, Charlie was one of the reasons I'd come to love the rain.


	23. Author's Note

**Leather and Lace **

_Life In Technicolor _

There are so many things that I realize now that were wrong with the relationship that I'd had with Edward Cullen. In the first place, he's an arrogant, controlling bastard who needs to know that just because he wants something doesn't make it his. In the second, I am a human girl. I have needs, desires... Things that I'd like to have fulfilled before I die. Edward wasn't willing to bend on any of those, and that is when I should've broken everything off with him. Jasper saved me—and I saved Jasper. Going back through all of my memories, of all the times that we had shared... Scary, romantic, tense, angry, sorrowful. Every single time, it had been Jasper with his reassuring smiles and cool hands. Without him, I would've sunken into a state from which I'd never be able to escape from. It's only now, when I look back at my life and see all these points in technicolor, that I realize it was never Edward that I was supposed to love. Even from the start, it was Jasper Whitlock. Even now, there is no place I'd rather be than in the rain with my beautiful, strong Major Jasper Whitlock.

~End~

Author's Note: Yes, this is a crappy as all crap ending. But it's better than just randomly dropping this story. I apologize for the brusqueness and confusing nature of this chapter, and if you need anything to be explained, give me a PM. I promise that I will reply to it to attempt to explain away your confusion. Sincerely, Zairan Mai.


End file.
